Fire Fighter Job Description

What Does A Fire Fighter Do?

One of the most important things to research before selecting a career is to find out what the exact job description is. You don’t want to select a career and then end up hating what you have to do on a daily basis. Fortunately for you, we have done all the research to help you make this decision. This article shall inform you about the job description of a firefighter and what they do daily.

Overview

Firefighters are your everyday heroes who work together to put out fires and help people if they get stuck in such situations. They are also in charge of rescue operations for common everyday troubles. This means that the image of firefighters saving a kitten stuck on a tree often shown on televisions is actually true. Besides this, they are also responsible for educating people to prevent further fires. In some cases, they are supposed to inspect sources of fire and dig deep into the case due to the possibility of an arsonist.

Extinguishing Fires

This is the main role of firefighters. When on-duty, these people stay in their firehouse to respond to a call as soon as possible. When they do get a call, they rush to the location in one of their firetrucks which may contain hoses or ladders. Some of the firetrucks are just meant to deliver injured people.

At the scene of the fire, every individual has a different task. Some people are in charge of controlling the ladder and rescue operations. Others are in charge of controlling the water flow and extinguishing the fire. These people work under the command of their respective commanding officers. Since they work in shifts, each unit has their own commanding officer.

Rescuing People

All firefighters are required to be qualified as an EMT. This is necessary since one of the primary duties of the firefighters are to rescue people. Most of the time this comes in handy when taking care of people who are trapped inside the fires. However, not all rescue operations that the firefighters undertake are fire related. Firemen or firewomen are the first on the scene with some police officers wherever there are any casualties. These casualties may be caused due to natural disasters, motor accidents or several other reasons. The firefighters are supposed to work together and rescue the victims from further harm. Sometimes a firefighter is also a qualified paramedic helping them provide better healthcare to the victims.

Educating People

Firefighters are usually educated in fire sciences. The amount of knowledge depends on which degree they have pursued in the field or which course they have studied. Thus, they help a lot of the people by educating them about ways to prevent fires. This is usually done right after they visit a fire site and extinguish it. Otherwise, they also go to schools and other locations to actively educate people about fires, how to prevent fires and if necessary, how to extinguish them.

Investigating Fires

To educate people on how to prevent fires, the firemen/firewomen need to first find the source of the fire. They need to identify what caused it so they can prevent further such situations. Sometimes, it is possible that criminals with malicious intent set such fires. It is then the job of the firefighters to investigate and provide more clues to the police officers about who started it. Firefighters specializing in investigations related to fire are called arson investigators. They work with the police to catch arsonists.

As you can see, there is a wide number of reasons to call these people our everyday heroes. While extinguishing fires in different locations, they ignite one in our hearts. So, if learning about their duties fired you up, see what education requirements you need to become one!